BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
1184 (Adams)
Hearing Date: 8/17/2009 Amended: 7/15/2009
Consultant: Bob Franzoia Policy Vote: E,U&C 11-0
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 1184, an urgency measure, would exempt from the
prohibition on the use of automatic dialing-announcing devices
(ADADs), calls made by a state or local public official for a
governmental purpose. This bill would require the Public
Utilities Commission (PUC) to determine what is not a
governmental purpose.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
PUC proceeding $157 one time; unknown
enforcementSpecial*
costs ongoing
* Public Utilities Reimbursement Account
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Current law restricts the use of ADADs to between 9:00 AM and
9:00 PM and requires that the call begin with a live person
stating the nature of the call, inquiring whether the called
party consents to receiving the call, and disconnects the call
upon request, with specified exceptions. This bill would add
calls made by state and local governmental officials for
governmental purposes to the list of exceptions, as enforced by
the PUC. Those exceptions are:
- Calls by public safety agencies providing information and
warnings regarding emergencies.
- Calls by schools for contacting parents regarding attendance.
- Calls by utilities or cable companies to customers regarding
prearranged customer premise visits.
The PUC would open a rulemaking in order to determine the
definition of "governmental purpose" to be exempted from the
statutory requirements for the use of ADADs. Based on the
public opposition and media attention regarding the use of ADADs
during the election season, it is reasonable to assume that
defining "governmental purpose" will be a difficult task. The
PUC will need to fully develop the record through public
hearings and ample stakeholder input before making its final
decision. PUC proceedings, which are similar to regulations and
end with the adoption of a decision, typically take one year or
more to complete. Assuming a one-year time frame, this
proceeding would require one Administrative Law Judge and one
staff attorney spending one third of their time, and one Public
Utilities Regulatory Analyst spending one half of his or her
time, researching the issues and options, holding workshops,
administering the proceeding with possible evidentiary hearings,
developing the record, and writing the proposed decision at an
estimated one-time cost of $157,443. There are also potential
enforcement costs that have not been determined at this time.